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Edmonton CRE investment tops $1B so far in 2017

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

“I think there’s been a fairly dramatic sense of increased activity in the last nine months or so —increased activity, increased urgency of decision making. I think that maybe has surprised a number of people, including myself,” says Doug Grinde, Edmonton-based vice-president of Barclay Street.

“I think there’s been a fairly dramatic sense of increased activity in the last nine months or so —increased activity, increased urgency of decision making. I think that maybe has surprised a number of people, including myself,” says Doug Grinde, Edmonton-based vice-president of Barclay Street.

A report by Barclay Street Real Estate says Calgary’s retail asset class demonstrated less robustness during the first half of 2016, decreasing to $74 million from $137 million at the mid-point of last year.

Is Calgary’s commercial real estate recovering just like its housing market?

Monday, August 28, 2017

With more investors entering the market since the third quarter of 2016, the first half of 2017 saw a 24 per cent year-over-year increase in total commercial investment dollar volume, according to Barclay Street Real Estate’s Mid-Year 2017 report published today.

“Signs of recovery illuminate Calgary’s commercial real estate investment market. An increase of 24 per cent in total dollar volume pushed Calgary’s real estate acquisitions to more than $1 billion during the first six months of 2017, compared to just over $827 million at the same point in 2016,” says David Wallach, president and broker of Barclay Street Real Estate.

Less office space was needed and the past two years has seen the vacancy rate soar. At its peak, the downtown vacancy rate was a minuscule 0.3 per cent in the second half of 2006. Today, it is 24.7 per cent, according to Barclay Street Real Estate.

The commercial district has seen a slight upswing in activity with 26,000 square feet of vacant retail space taken off the market, cutting the area’s vacancy rate from 11.5 per cent to 10.8 per cent, Barclay Street said in its mid-year report.

There's a new found sense of optimism for Calgary's retail sector, says a new report by Barclay Street Real Estate. In its mid-year report, the commercial real estate firm says the overall vacancy rate for the sector was three per cent in the second quarter of this year, which was down 0.4 per cent from the first quarter. This comes after four consecutive quarters of being in the mid-three per cent range and marks a return to first quarter 2016 levels.

“In the listings that I have, and the tenants that I have looking, there are a ton of guys looking for space under 5,000 square feet,” said Dan Harmsen, vice-president of Barclay Street Real Estate. “That has historically been the beginning of new growth.”